Hanging door



April4,193s. l BH'ALL 15,303,379v HANGING DOOR. i

Filed Dec. 19, 1929 2 sheets-sheet 1 1x-m14, 1933.- BHALL, v 1,903,379

HANGING DoR Filed De. 19, 1929 2 Sheets-sheet 2 I afm? pgn 5/ PatentedApr. 4,'1933v UNITED STATES* PATENT OFFICE EIGENELL HALL. or'GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS HANGING DOOR Application med necemb'er 19,1929. 'serial 11o. 415,205.

This invention relates to the hanging. of Y doors, and a primary objectof the invent1on ,is to provide a hingin means which may be mounted inthe door Joint so as to be conembodiment thereof shown by way of ex-`ample in the accompanying drawings, where- 2o in;

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of the body hinge pillar and door hingepillar of an automobile body, the right hand or olf pillar being shown,vand. wit part of the door pillar I broken away;

Fig. 2 is a section 011 a larger scale in the plane of the line 2-2 ofFig. l showing the door in open position. Parts are shown iny this andthe following sections which are omitted in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view in the plane of the line 3-3;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the door in closed position;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a hinge' detached and in expanded or openposition;

Fig. 6-is a perspective diagram; and Fig. 7 is a sectional detail,showing-in exaggerated manner a feature of construction. Referring tothe drawings, I have shown in Fig. 1 a body hinge pillar 7 of an aut-o.-

mobile body, herein the cowl pillar; on which' is hung the door hingepillar 9 of a door pro- .vided with the customary overlap iange 11 (seeFigs. 2 and 3). I have herein shown the door as hinged to swing on acenter line or hinge axis which in the upper part of the body liesinwardly of the exterior surface thereof but which on account of `theturnunder of the vehicle, which existsbecause such a body is narrower atthe sills than at the belt, lies exteriorly of saidouter surface l atlthe lower part of the body, as illustrated in Fig. 1. I have hereinshown the top hinge 13 and central or belt hinge 15 as being of 55 atype devised by Frederick J. Kubler, of New York city, and embodying(see Fig.4 2)

a leaf 15 secured lto the door pillar 9 and a cooperating leaf 17'secured to the body pillar 7 and having its proximal portion offset intoo i the plane ofleaf 15 providing a neck 19 into which the overlapflange 11 turns in the opening movement of the door, the body pillarbeing suitably recessed asshown to pass the flange 11 in its turningmovement. The cen- 65 ter line defined by these hingesis inward of theexterior surface of the door.-

In accordance with my invention I provide a hinge for the lower part ofthe door at the location of the turn-under which may be received in thedoor joint and thus concealed' when the door is closed but which has aninherent law of motion about the same-center line as the upper hinges,that is, a center line exterior to the hinge and to the body, so thatthe lower portion of the door is supported and guided in its swingingmovement apart from the support and guide provided by the upper hing f nIn the embodiment of my-invention shown, for reasons of constructionalsim licity the hinge for the lower portion of t e door is symmetricalabout central vertical and horizontal 1planes although it will beapparent when t e present description is concluded that suchconst-ructionV is not necessary.

Herein (see Fig. 5) the hinging means is organized as a unltarystructure or hinge and .comprises two attaching plates 21 and 23 similarto ordinary hinge butts which may be secured by screws or. other meansto the body pillar and door pillar respectively and which support andare connected by a pair of oppositely disposed toggles. Herein an uppertoggle comprises links or arms 25 and 27 .95 hinged to plates21 and 23along oblique axes 29 and 31 respectively and pivoted together on anoblique axis 33. As shown in Fig. 1, the axes converge in suchmannerthat if prolonged they would intersect a horizontal line lo drawnthrough a point P in the center line of the upper hinges, which is alsothe center of motion of the hinge about to be described.

4 Vat least one pair of corresponding pivots of The second toggleembodying arms 35 and 37 has the oblique axes 39 and 41 by which it isconnected .to the jamb and door and its links or arms lare connected bypivot 43.

These links likewise converge to a point, in

the center -line as indicated in Fig. l, but are oppositely arranged tothe pivots of the other toggle in such manner that the elements of mitsthe links to be counterparts one of another. The links or arms of thetoggles are made of suitable shape and dimension to be housed in thedoor joint, as illustrated in Fig. l, and their opposed edges 45 and 47are formed at such an angle as to permit the door to move to openposition,at which time these edges approach one another toward theposition shown -in Fig. 5.

Having Ythus described in a general way the physical elements of theparticular embodiment of the invention illustrated, the principlesembodied therein will be readily understood by reference to the diagramof F igi 6. Referring to that diagram, I have there shown three pivotalaxes DG, EH and .FJ disposed to converge at a point P. The

axes DG and FJ each constitute an element `of a cone whose apex is at P,and they may be of equal inclination forming elements of one cone whosebase is M as shown. If the toggle formed by joining these axes ispermitted to expand and collapse, the axes always `intersect whateverthe positions of the parts. Thus if DG is'xed, FJ may roll around thecone, revolving about the point P. The inclination of EH will vary butitv will still gyrate about P. The relative movement 05E the pivots andthat which would be leffected if the hinge detached were collapsedandopened in the hands is a gyratory movement of vall three, lallrevolving about P. Thus a door mounted on FJ could move in a circleabout the centerline CP. Movement of the axis FJ in the surface of thevertical right coneshown in the diagram, however, presupposes that allthe three pivots partake of the hinging movement and that it is notconcentrated in any one of them, forv obviously any one or two of thepivots could be held without preventing turning of the other. The propermovement may be effected and the door eliciently supported-.by utilizingan adjacent -oppositely disposed toggle whose pivots operate in a coneor cones having the same axis but upside down with respect to the coneshown in the diagram (Fig..6) The movement of one toggle tending todisplace the point P from the vertical center line shown is balanced andresisted by the action of the other toggle,

. the tendency of which is to act in the other direction. Thus the partscorresponding to the pivots FJ will roll about a vertical cone and thedoor attached thereto will swing about the vertical center line CP.

I have herein described and shown, more particularly in Fig. 4, pivots29 and` 31 which are disposed parallel toone another in theclosedposition of the hinge and which hence do not intersect at a pointin the center line. Their position corresponds to the lines DK and FL inthe diagram which when produced are tangent at Q, and R respectively toa circle about the point P, the diameter of which is -equal to thedistance between the centers of pivots 29 and 31 in the closed positionof the door in Fig. 4. The plane PRCF coincides with the plane PCFlsince they have the lines PC and CF in common, and the door carried bythe pivot FL (and the corresponding oppositely arranged pivot) willswing about the center line as in .the caseof theJ inclined pivot FJ. Asthe door opens, thezline FR gyrates about the center line CP, alwaystangent to the circle whose center is at P, as will` be clear from Fig.4, and thus revolving about the point P although at a iixed distancetherefrom. The links DKHE and FLHE correspond to the links 25 and 27respectively of the hinge shown, and Fig. 6fprovides a'diagram of theupper toggle of the other gures.

'The inclination of the various pivots of the toggles may widely varybut are conformed asnearly as possible to the vertical rather than tothe horizontal `in order to support the door against sagging'movement.

hinge illustrated in the lThe form andshape of the links may likewise bevaried as structural convenience may 4dictate and to accommodate them tothe shape and dimensions lof the. door joint in' being received betweenlateral knuckles, as,l

51, on the other and the pintle', as 33, hasla binding t in the centralknuckle 49 anda turning lit in the lateral knuckles. The looseness inthe latter is, of course,.enormously exaggerated in Fig. 7 One. linkthus turns on the other as on trunnions, and the bearing surface of thepivotal joint isas wide as the links permit. 'This contributes to therigidity of support and accuracy of movement afforded by the hinge as awhole.

The edges and 47 of the opposed toggles may be arranged as shown in thedrawings so that they approach each other in the expanding movement ofthe toggles, and they are preferably made to contact one with another,as illustrated in Fig. 5, to limit the swinging movement of the door andmutually to preient one another from coming to dead center. The angle ofthe toggles in their open position, as shown in Fig. 3, may provide forreceiving the overlap flange 11 of the door in its open position asshown. The hinge constructed in this manner forms an eiiicient andrugged door stop.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and Itherefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respectsas illustrative and not restrictive; reference being had to the appendedclaims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope ofthe invention.

I claim: -f

1. Means for hing'ing a closure to swing about' an exterior axiscomprising a pair of adjacent toggles, each toggle having la centralpivot which produced intersects said axis and terminal pivots whichrevolve about said intersection, said toggles being oppositely arranged.l

2. Means for hinging a closure to swing about an exterior axiscomprising a pair of adjacent toggles, each toggle having a centralpivot which produced intersects said axis and terminal pivots whichrevolve about said intersection, all said pivots being oblique to saidaxis at angles less than 45, said toggles being oppositely arranged.

3. Means for hinging a closure to swing about an exterior axiscomprising a pair of adjacent toggles, each toggle having a centralpivotwhich produced intersects said axis and terminal pivots whichrevolve about said intersection, said toggles being oppositely, arrangedand lwhen expanded contacting one with another to limit opening movementof the door. l

4. Means for hinging a closure to swing about an exterior axiscomprising two toggles having pivots oblique to said axis and convergingfor gyratory movement thereabout, a pair of corresponding pivots in thetwo toggles being mutually transverse one to thev other, the axes of thepivots intersecting in a plane between said toggles.

5. Means for hinging a closure to swing about an exterior axiscomprising two toglles received in the door joint and havingcorresponding axes mutually transverse to support and direct the closurein its swin ing movement, said toggles in their expanding movementcontacting to prevent their reaching dead center and to check theswinging movement of the closure.

7. Means for hinging a closure to swing' about an exterior axiscomprising two oppositely arranged toggles received in the door jointand each having its pivots disposed obliquely to said axis andconverging for gyratory movement about a point therein.

8. Means for controlling swinging movement of a closure comprising apair of adjacent oppositely arranged toggles, each toggle having itspivots converging for gyratory movement about a point in the axis ofswinging movement, said toggles when expanded mutually contacting onewith another to limit the swinging movement.

9. In a concealed hinge, two pairs of links, the links of each pairbeing pivoted to each other and respectively to jamb and hinge style,the axes of said pairs being relatively angularly disposed to supportthe closure and to enforce swinging movement thereof about an exterioraxis, said pairs in the' opened or expanded position thereof mutuallyengaging one another to provide a stop and mutually preventing oneanother from reaching dead center.

In testimo-nyvwhereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

BICKNELL HALL.

